The Minority Caucus in Parliament has alleged that the Akufo Addo led administration is set to either cancel or suspend sixty ongoing projects across the country as part of measures to execute its domestic debt exchange programme.
Hon Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance in the 2023 budget, announced a halt in capital projects in line with revenue rationalisation measures.
Speaking to journalists, the Minority Chief Whip, Governs Kwame Agbodza revealed that the suspension of the projects would lead to about 3 million job losses hence the need for the government to be transparent about the conditions of the IMF deal.
According to him, “as we sit here, a series of meetings have taken place with a close group of people in the NPP where about sixty projects and programmes are going to either be suspended or cancelled. These projects include the Obetsebi Lamptey road extension, the La and Shama General Hospital projects, the Tema Motorway Road project, and the Adomi Bridge project.”
The Minority Chief whip also alleged that, the government had made some payments to some of the contractors without the necessary green light to kickstart these projects.
“You will be surprised this government paid some of the developers 15 percent to 20 percent mobilization fees and the contractors are sitting in their offices drinking tea because the government is unable to tell them whether to go ahead because the Finance Minister basically asked them to suspend all those projects and we are currently losing value because the contractors have taken the money and no work is currently going on.”
Mr Abgodza
The parliamentary official, to a greater extent demanded transparency in the selection of these projects for either suspension or cancellation.
“What are the underlying principles of the selection of the projects the NPP wants to cancel, suspend or go ahead with? We all have to have an understanding of this because the lack of understanding creates anxiety.
“There are financiers, developers, sub-developers, contractors, suppliers, and ordinary workers with these entities who will lose their jobs permanently and I project that this may lead to three million job losses.”
Mr Abgodza
We Need IMF Bailout In March Or Economy Will crash
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Hon Kenneth Ofori Atta has stated that, failure to secure a bailout with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by mid-March may ground Ghana’s economy to a halt.
Addressing Pensioner bondholders who have resisted their inclusion in a domestic debt exchange programme today, February 6, the Finance Minister pleaded with the pensioners to accept a 3.5% cut and accept the new terms of 15% coupon rate and 5% maturity.
“We really feel that government has listened, there is humanity to us, we are protecting the destitute, widows and the orphans and the older people who have worked for this nation. We are in a crisis, we cannot put our heads under the sun and pretend that we are not.
“We need to be mindful that we really need to be successful in going to the fund by this March to avoid what we all experienced last year which we all don’t want to experience again.”
Ofori Atta
Pensioners who bought government bonds, on Monday, February 6, 2023, picketed at the Finance Ministry to press home their demands for an exemption of their bonds from the government’s domestic debt exchange programme.
The pensioners who are part of the Pensioner Bondholders Forum, want the government to completely exempt them from the debt exchange. They believe the inclusion of their bonds will negatively impact their livelihoods.
The closure of the invitation for holders of the government’s bond to subscribe to the programme expires tomorrow, Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
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